This paper examines the extent to which the economic gains derived from gum and resin commercialization impact rural livelihood improvement under different resource management regimes in the drylands of Ethiopia and Sudan. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 240 randomly selected small-scale producers in four regions with gradients of resource management regimes. The survey was supplemented by secondary data, group discussions and key informant interviews. In the four regions, gum and resin income contributes to 14%–23% of the small-scale producers’ household income. Absolute income was positively correlated with resource management regime and commercialization level. It was higher from cultivated resources on private lands, followed by regulated access to wild resources. In open-access resources, the producers’ income was the lowest, although accessed by the poor and women. However, dependence on gum and resin was higher in open-access resource areas. Households’ socioeconomic characteristics, resource access, production and marketing variables determining income from gum and resin were identified and their variation across the cases is discussed. Overall, gum and resin commercialization in the study areas play a potential poverty alleviation role as a source of regular income, a safety net, and a means of helping producers move out of poverty.

Historically Acacia seyal gums in the Sudan is ranking as a second important gum product after A. senegal interms of quantities 10% in average until 2011. Thus the contribution percentages within the last four years (2012-2015)jumped to almost 60% in average. A. seyal trees coverage extend in an area of 36,000 square kilometers (3.6 million ha)in a latitude ranging between 10 to 140North. The distribution of the A.seyal stand is extensively on the clay soil plainswhere an average rainfall is ranging between 300 to 400 mm. Two infraspecific variants of A. seyal widely distributed inSudan separated on the basis of the presence and absence of the ant-galls and the colour of the bark. Ant-gall and whitecolored bark are the characteristics of variety fistula, while the bark of variety of seyal is green or red. Despite thesignificant contribution of A. seyal in the exports market in the Sudan, farmers have slightly a poor knowledge of post-harvest cultural practices of A. seyal of which proper methods of storage conditions and gum stacking. Nevertheless, thispaper is trying to review the existing research in the areas of pre- and post-harvest cultural practices including treehusbandry, tapping, gum collection, handling and storage. Exudation mechanisms (tapping and natural exudation) arealso been highlighted coupled with physical and chemical properties of A. seyal (characterization) as well as moisturecontent, colour, tannins etc., aiming at establishing a clear protocol of the A. seyal tree in the Sudan.